Synaptic Current Response of a Liquid Ga Electrode via a Surface Electrochemical Redox Reaction in a NaOH Solution.

Abstract

An ionic device using a liquid Ga electrode in a 1 M NaOH solution is proposed to generate artificial neural spike signals. The oxidation and reduction at the liquid Ga surface were investigated for different bias voltages at 50 °C. When the positive sweep voltage from the starting voltage (VS) of 1 V was applied to the Ga electrode, the oxidation current flowed immediately and decreased exponentially with time. The spike and decay current behavior resembled the polarization and depolarization at the influx and extrusion of Ca2+ in biological synapses. Different average decay times of ∼81 and ∼310 ms were implemented for VS of −2 and −5 V, respectively, to mimic the synaptic responses to short- and long-term plasticity; these decay states can be exploited for application in binary electrochemical memory devices. The oxidation mechanism of liquid Ga was studied. The differences in Ga ion concentration due to VS led to differences in oxidation behavior. Our device is beneficial for the organ cell–machine interface system because liquid Ga is biocompatible and flexible; thus, it can be applied in biocompatible and flexible neuromorphic device development for neuroprosthetics, human cell–machine interface formation, and personal health care monitoring.